The Avero Blog

Why Engaging Influencers Matters To Your Business

A social media influencer, just as the word suggests, is someone who influences others through social media. The important distinction is that influencers are brand advocates who inspire their followers to act. Jay Baer put this simply, saying, “true influence drives action, not just awareness.”

For our industry, here are some examples of some strong hospitality social media influencers:

Building relationships with influencers helps you expand your social media presence exponentially, and at a much faster rate. By leveraging those relationships, you’ll notice your brand really comes to life with the added influence of a well-known real person. Their opinions can help drive awareness of and traffic to your restaurant. By focusing on your energy on engaging these influencers, and building these relationships, you’ll notice the impact it has on your business. Just be sure that once you get their attention, you maintain engagement with those social media mavens.

How do you engage with social influencers?

Just like you see who likes and follows you, so do they. You should start by following, liking, and sharing your influencers’ posts. Think of it as paying it forward. You more you give influencers love, the more you’ll get their attention and influence them to like and share what you have to say.

You can also start the conversation by reaching out to them in a professional manner, via a personalized direct message. Recognize that their time is valuable, and clearly state your purpose of how you wish to collaborate. Approaching a sought after social media influencer is more efficient when you come with a plan at hand, for example:

Ask them to follow you, like your page, or join your network/group

Suggest teaming up on an event

Invite them to guest blog or post – think the popular “takeover” (link 1)

Throw in giveaways to followers

Provide reviews for each other

Most importantly, make sure that your approach will be mutually beneficial, and that you share similar goals. You both want to increase your brand awareness and expand your reach, and doing so in collaboration requires participation and buy-in from both sides.

Get on it

Make use of your arsenal of marketing tools. We’ve talked about geo-fencing before, and its use as a location-based marketing tool. Managing social media is easier when you have all your social platforms connected in one place. Tools like this can also help you identify the social media influencers with whom you should build relationships.

To learn more about engaging with social media influencers, and other social media tips, check out our Social Media Survival Guide.